Finally Home
by CrowNoYami
Summary: Gabriel wakes up from where his body had been left on the ground after Michael ran him through. While he wanted to blame the Winchesters for leaving him there, he couldn't. Stumbling his way to safety, Gabriel wakes up to someone watching him. Will they help him return home or maybe convince him to stay? Wasn't dying twice for the boys enough? Part 19 of the GMC Part 1 of Flock


**Author's Note:** **Okay guys I'm super excited! I checked my stats on AO3 and have 256 user subscriptions, I broke 250! ALSO 65,005 hits! In celebration I'm posting this, which I was going to wait until tomorrow but heck yeah check out those numbers!**

 **Now about the fic. This is going to be one of mini-series. This is also one of my submissions for the Gabriel Monthly Challenge which anyone can join in Tumblr. This series has 4 parts and changes pairing each time. This one doesn't officially have a pairing though there is Sabriel if you squint. Next one is Debriel (same timeline, it works, trust me) Then Gabriel/Castiel with mentions of Gabriel/Castiel/Dean. Then the last one is Established Gabriel/Dean/Castiel which then becomes Gabriel/Dean/Castiel/Sam and as we develop, we see hints of others as well.**

 **The reason I'm mentioning this now is because while THIS one can be read as a stand-alone (and is encouraged to do so!) once we get into the pairings, I know some of you may not jump on a ship you don't like. I'll have the warnings (as always) posted in the tags so PLEASE pay attention to the tags.**

 **That's all, thank you so so so much for your continued support, seeing those numbers really made my night! I know that it shouldn't matter but it makes me so happy!**

 **And a HUGE thanks to QueenOfHearts who took the time to edit this for me on the fly!**

 **Prompts Used:**

 **Statement:**

The harvest moon hung low in the sky, bloated with menace and promising despair.

 **Aesthetic:** **. /61d0f1068a4135186acebe598dcef8c0/tumblr_inline_phh0qgK6MV1utzgbs_**

 **Finally Home**

Dying wasn't something that Gabriel was unfamiliar with. He had been playing the game of letting people think he was dead and hiding out so long that _actually_ dying never crossed his mind. This time was closer than the last one. With the Winchesters watching he had thought one of them would be able to pick up on the fact that he wasn't really gone. Now as he woke up in the deserted area, his grace relaying that he was the last of his kind in this universe, Gabriel wondered what all he had missed in his self-imposed slumber.

He hoped that one of the boys or even one of his brothers would have come back and taken his body to their universe. Apparently dying for them wasn't enough for a proper burial, just like last time. Sighing, Gabriel stumbled while standing, waving his arms to gather his balance before attempting to take a step. If he thought his grace had been drained before, it was nothing like it was now. He could hardly walk. His energy was snapped from his vessel and grace alike. It wouldn't take much to kill him off, and Gabriel didn't think he could pull another miracle out of his ass to stop it.

Making his way to the camp the other humans had used before, Gabriel thankfully managed to get the bus running again, so he didn't have to walk the entire journey. With shaking legs, the archangel made his way out of the vehicle and nearly fell on his face on the last step. Catching himself, Gabriel tried to make his way to the medical tent. At least there would be a bed and maybe something he could use to help him sleep. They hadn't had much, but in the desperation without pharmaceuticals after the Apocalypse, the humans had gone back to their roots of finding useful plants.

Collapsing on one of the few beds inside the tent, Gabriel was barely able to count to one before he passed out. When he next woke, he could instantly tell he wasn't alone. Keeping his breathing even the voice that echoed through his mind was someone he thought he would never hear from again.

' _I had thought you dead, Gabriel.'_

Hot breath panted against the side of his face, too close for him to evade if the monster wanted to bite into him. Opening his eyes, Gabriel turned to face the large black furry muzzle of a giant wolf. It was larger than the average wolf, over two hundred pounds of muscle and strength. In his current state, Gabriel would be no match to the god he was facing. "Fenrir," acknowledged Gabriel, watching as the wolf growled low for a moment before taking a step back and allowing Gabriel to sit up from his prone position on the bed.

' _You are not the same as you once were. Your grace is all but gone. Tell me, Gabriel Archangel of Justice and Mercy, was it you who pushed your brother from this plane of existence?'_

Gabriel wanted to claim the credit, but if there was one thing he knew Fenrir could always smell, it was when someone lied. "No, I don't know how but Michael left on his own. I bet I know where he went too. I'm not from this dimension, and I need to get back. Can you help me?" It burned something inside him, asking for help once again from the wolf who had been one to throw him at Asmodeus. Desperate times called for drastic measures, and at all costs, he needed to get back home.

' _You speak the truth. I wonder if you mean to throw your brother once again in this world when your business is done. I will not help you return the archangel to the wasteland he created. It is once again time for gods. Do you not agree?'_

With a bitter laugh, Gabriel nodded. "On that, we agree. I don't know how yet, but I don't plan on letting Michael go _anywhere._ There's a pair of hunters that will have found something that can take Michael out by now; it wouldn't be their first time removing Michael from the playing field. I need to get to them."

"I may have an answer to that."

Gabriel whipped his head around to the voice, a deep baritone that demanded attention. The man standing before Gabriel was someone he wouldn't soon forget. It had been a challenge fooling Odin for so long. Now in this world of pain and desolation, Odin was once again the Allfather, something he had lacked in Gabriel's world. This was the man who won wars, the one who commanded armies. One who would command an army again.

"Come, Gabriel, if you believe you can help your Winchesters end this, I will help you return to your world. There is more than one way to open such a portal."

Without hesitating, Gabriel swung his legs over the side of the bed, Fenrir allowing the archangel to use him to steady himself while he walked. It was slow-going though Gabriel tried to keep up with the man who had taken him while he was pretending to be Loki. Not everything had been a play; he had honestly felt at home with Odin in Asgard. Even if they were taking him to his death, Gabriel felt he owed it to them to try. Loki hadn't been set on revenge until after their pact was broken, and though he didn't think the punishment fit the crime, Gabriel had been able to let go of the pain from that betrayal upon Loki's death.

The boys were right; it didn't make everything better, but it did at least give him some closure. The night was brightened by one of the largest moons Gabriel had seen in a long time, its reflection a golden-red in the sky. Two crows cawed upon seeing them, each flying and making perch on Odin's shoulders. Once they stopped Gabriel recognized the spot as one where he had wiped away the warding that kept him and Castiel from passing what seemed like ages ago.

"This is one of the few places left this side of the ocean where you can feel the magic flowing through the earth. Now that there are no archangels from this realm to hold its power back, I should be able to gather enough strength to create a single sliver of a portal. You will have but a second to jump through before the chance is lost to you. I cannot promise it will be anywhere safe; it will depend on how much strength of mind you carry and what you allow Huginn and Muninn to see."

Glancing around the area, Gabriel turned his eyes to the full moon in the sky, it almost promising despair. If he were to stay, Heaven would be his. It would take time but with Odin and Fenrir and who knew who else at his side, he could regain his grace and organize Heaven as it should be. A few months, maybe a year, and he would be back to archangel status and could command those who survived Michael's domain.

A flash of Castiel's hopeful expression when looking to Gabriel as he explained their situation in Heaven, how the young angel thought Gabriel would be able to solve their power balance flashed through his head. How Sam had nearly tried to stop him from facing Michael, the pain in those hazel eyes when he realized what Gabriel was going to do made the archangel pause. Then there was Dean; the man had always been a bit distant from him, but in the past few days at the bunker, Gabriel finally felt like he was becoming a member of their small family. A family which included his nephew, a nephew who would need someone besides Lucifer to train and guide him.

It wasn't much of a choice at all.

"They can look for whatever they need. I need to go back home; my family needs me."

A white flower for hope, the moon hung brightly in the sky, some blood from Gabriel and Odin, and one hour of painfully allowing Odin's crows into his mind and they were ready. As Odin raised his staff, Gabriel turned to the man. He wanted to ask so much, of what happened to the Gabriel of this universe, of what happened to Loki; but all it took was one look at Fenrir who still refused to return to his human form and the sadness radiating from Odin, and Gabriel knew the answer to both.

Though he didn't have my strength, Gabriel used what he could to pray to a father who had forgotten him, asking that the portal would open close to the Winchesters. The second the bright golden light split, Gabriel jumped. He didn't have the time to say goodbye, to do more than turn and look at the two pairs of eyes watching him, hoping that they could read his thanks from his expression.

His landing was even worse than the first one. Instead of landing in someone's crotch, Gabriel found himself falling onto the cold hard concrete ground of someone's floor. Grunting at the impact, Gabriel was at least thankful that he wasn't in the middle of the ocean. With how sore he felt, he wasn't sure he would have been able to swim ashore. He didn't have to wait long before someone found him. Only a second later there was a shout. It took a minute for Gabriel to find his bearings again, but the second he did, he was looking into a pair of hazel eyes.

"Gabriel?!"

With a laugh, one that made his ribs ache, Gabriel reached up toward the hunter. "Hey Samsquatch, you mind helping me up? Interdimensional travel is a bitch." Sam didn't help him up, instead, the large man knelt beside him and pulled him into a tight hug, one Gabriel hadn't felt in a very long time. They both laughed until tears ran down their faces, and Gabriel sent a prayer of thanks to his father. He was finally home, with the family he would fight for until his dying day. Again. It's what Winchesters did.

 **P.S. If you want to keep up to date on my writing add me to Facebook, Tumbler, Twitter or Instagram as CrowNoYami ;-) Also, if you want to see what I** **'m reading (I always review so you know what you're getting into) I'm on Goodreads as well, the same name as always.**


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